Implementation of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act by the Federal Bureau of Investigation*

Report No. 04-19
April 2004
Office of the Inspector General

Proprietary/Commercial Information Redacted

Appendix II

FCC Actions on Petitions

The DOJ filed a deficiency petition with the FCC in March 1998 because the J-Standard did not meet the additional nine punch-list capabilities that law enforcement was seeking. In September 1998, the FCC granted an extension to carriers of CALEA deadline for complying with CALEA capability requirements. For equipment installed or deployed after January 1, 1995, the FCC extended the deadline from October 28, 1998, to June 30, 2000.

In August 1999, the FCC ruled that carriers must comply with six of the additional punch-list requirements sought by the government and not included in J-Standard. The FCC gave carriers until September 2001 to comply with these additional capability standards. The FCC also mandated that carriers provide the capability to intercept packet-mode communications by September 30, 2001.

The major carriers petitioned the FCC for an extension of complying with CALEA and were granted an extension to June 2002, which the FBI supported pursuant to the FBI's approval of their flexible deployment plans.

The major carriers submitted petitions to the FCC in response to the FCC Public Notice dated September 28, 2001 to extend the June 30, 2002, FCC-mandated CALEA compliance date. On April 28, 2003, the FBI advised Verizon, BellSouth Telecommunications, and SBC that the FBI would not support their petitions to the FCC because of the refusal by these carriers to accommodate law enforcement's high priority electronic surveillance needs. At the time of our audit, FBI representatives stated that the FCC had not ruled on these petitions.

The FCC issued a notice of proposed rule making, dated February 14, 2002 that would classify wireline broadband internet access and cable modem internet access services as information services. The DOJ filed comments opposing such classifications that it believes will thwart the purpose of CALEA. The FCC had yet to rule on these issues at the time of our review.

* BECAUSE THIS REPORT CONTAINED PROPRIETARY/COMMERCIAL INFORMATION, WE REDACTED (WHITED OUT) THAT INFORMATION FROM THE VERSION OF THE REPORT THAT IS BEING PUBLICLY RELEASED. WHERE SUCH INFORMATION WAS REDACTED IS NOTED IN THE REPORT.